# Best super-hero role model **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 12, 2011, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-super-hero-role-model/599461 "2011-10-12T20:45:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2011, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-super-hero-role-model/599461/21 "2011-10-12T22:53:57Z")
BAH! Thinking make head hurt. \*\* HULK SMASH!\*\* šŸ˜ƒ ---
**Author:** ![Satchmo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/satchmo/32/4223_2.png) [@Satchmo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Satchmo)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2011, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-super-hero-role-model/599461/22 "2011-10-12T22:59:21Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > He was the guy who volunteered to take the ā€˜Super-Soldierā€™ formula, same way he wouldā€™ve thrown himself on a grenade to save others: anything to help the war effort. Okay, Iā€™ll grant you that. But think about it. World War II, any able bodied man that didnā€™t enlist was vilified, (unless they filled a vital role in the war effort at home.) Rogers was such a wimp, he was refused by all three services he tried to enlist with. (Hard to imagine, but true in most versions of his origin. I havenā€™t seen the new movie yet.) He was desperate to do anything he could. Admirable in itself, but is that a role model? Anyway, Iā€™m almost convincing myself here. Cap is a very close second to Barry Allen. Like somebody said above, Barry Allen was practically a saint. Peter Parker is a good model now, but before Uncle Ben died, he was kind of a jerk. ---
**Author:** ![armedmonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@armedmonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/armedmonkey)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2011, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-super-hero-role-model/599461/23 "2011-10-12T23:13:29Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > Leaving aside the love triangle thing ā€“ which hasnā€™t been an element in the comics in forever and a day ā€“ you have clearly never read a Superman comic, or not in ages. Supes is always solving problems by thinking. Maybe it has been awhile, but you asked about real life, and in most of his more popular incarnations heā€™s been, wellā€¦ Letā€™s look at the original movie. Lex sets off a bunch of earthquakes and Lois ends up buried in her car while supes is saving an entire town from a broken dam. He doesnā€™t get to her soon enough, and then flies into orbit to punch time in the face. He turns back time, flies back to earth, and casually saves Lois. Yay! Exceptā€¦ He undid eventsā€¦ which means he never saved the town and is casually grinning like an idiot while _at that very moment_ hundreds of people are drowning. And he knows it. Your paragon of morals knowingly destroyed a town. ---
**Author:** ![Harborwolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Harborwolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harborwolf)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2011, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-super-hero-role-model/599461/24 "2011-10-12T23:23:28Z")
I waffled a bit between Cap and Spidey, but at the end of the day I had to go with Spidey. My reasoning was based on characterization. Overall, Cap always does the right thing which is great as an ideal but not as good for a role model. Spidey displays the struggle more. He deals with the issues and does the right thing. Also, depending on which Spidey you go with, heā€™s gotten married and spend time in college and working as a teacher in an inner city school. All this and saved the world. Cap? Heā€™s a slacker. All he does is save the world.šŸ˜ƒ ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2011, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-super-hero-role-model/599461/25 "2011-10-12T23:43:07Z")
Spiderman? _Spiderman?_ The same Spiderman who just recently gave up the love of his life in a deal with the devil to save some old bat who is going to die soon anyway? _That_ Spiderman? Some people arenā€™t paying attention. Superman is the way to go. Just enough fun to be human. Cap is _too_ straight-arrow. With him as a role model fascism is just around the corner. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2011, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-super-hero-role-model/599461/26 "2011-10-12T23:44:17Z")
> [@](#): > > Quoth **Satchmo** : > Rogers was such a wimp, he was refused by all three services he tried to enlist with. (Hard to imagine, but true in most versions of his origin. I havenā€™t seen the new movie yet.) He was desperate to do anything he could. Admirable in itself, but is that a role model? To quote the good scientist guy in the movie, ā€œItā€™s not the rejections that interest me. Itā€™s the five attempts.ā€. If Rogers had signed up for the service, and got 4-Fed, and maybe tried once more for good measure, nobody would have thought less of him for it. But instead, he basically kept on trying, every single time he saw a recruitment center. He was _determined_. He always had the soul of a hero; he just lacked the body. ---
**Author:** ![Paranoid\_Randroid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/paranoid_randroid/32/18_2.png) [@Paranoid\_Randroid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paranoid_Randroid)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2011, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-super-hero-role-model/599461/27 "2011-10-13T00:01:01Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > But instead, he basically kept on trying, every single time he saw a recruitment center. He was _determined_. He always had the soul of a hero; he just lacked the body. Surely at some point he wouldā€™ve come to the realization: ā€œHm, maybe theyā€™re onto something ā€“ theyā€™re clearly convinced that Iā€™d hinder rather than help the effort. Perhaps I could contribute better by learning to grow potatoes.ā€ Someone who tries over and over again to join the military, ignoring the experienced recruiters who believe heā€™s too wimpy, sounds a bit suicidal to me. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2011, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-super-hero-role-model/599461/28 "2011-10-13T00:21:56Z")
> [@Paranoid\_Randroid](#): > > Surely at some point he wouldā€™ve come to the realization: ā€œHm, maybe theyā€™re onto something ā€“ theyā€™re clearly convinced that Iā€™d hinder rather than help the effort. Perhaps I could contribute better by learning to grow potatoes.ā€ Someone who tries over and over again to join the military, ignoring the experienced recruiters who believe heā€™s too wimpy, sounds a bit suicidal to me. Iā€™m not sure this requires spoilers, since itā€™s all pretty much in the commercials ā€“ so let me add that (a) once he finds an experienced recruiter who _ **does** _ let him in, Steve proves that he _ **can** _ struggle through basic training as required, lugging his rifle through an obstacle course before wheezing his way through the long hard marches; and (b) after he aforementionedly throws himself on a grenade to save the lives of his fellow recruits, the Army concludes ā€œself-sacrificingā€ rather than ā€œsuicidalā€ when promptly making him the recipient of the super-soldier serum. And even when he needs to rely on brains rather than brawn, heā€™s the only soldier ever to capture the flag during the training exercise. ---
**Author:** ![Candyman74](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ad7895/32.png) [@Candyman74](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Candyman74)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2011, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-super-hero-role-model/599461/29 "2011-10-13T00:24:03Z")
Superman. He epitomises doing the right thing; thatā€™s why heā€™s called a boy scout. > [@](#): > > But letā€™s put that aside and look at how this guy operates. He doesnā€™t solve problems by out thinking his opponent, or doing research, or even working especially hard. He solves problems by punching. Heā€™s not especially smart, or rich, or clever. Heā€™s just a big muscular guy in go go boots whose solution to everything is to punch it in the face. Itā€™s all he knows how to do. That is not Superman. He tried to think about what the right thing to do is, and frequently that does not involve punching anything. > [@](#): > > Maybe it has been awhile, but you asked about real life, and in most of his more popular incarnations heā€™s been, wellā€¦ Letā€™s look at the original movie. Meh. One movie vs. thousands of comic books! So some scriptwriter overlooked some plot holes. Heā€™s characterized - consistently - as the role model for all the other Superheroes (except Batman). Heā€™s a moral authority in the DC Universe. ---
**Author:** ![Apollyon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/apollyon/32/4238_2.png) [@Apollyon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apollyon)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2011, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-super-hero-role-model/599461/30 "2011-10-13T00:26:27Z")
Green Arrow. Particularly on the strength of the Oā€™Neil storylines when heā€™d lost his fortune and became a crusader for the poor and marginalized ā€“ and it was Queen who got Hal Jordan to be less ā€œby the bookā€ and do more to help the needy. ---
**Author:** ![Paranoid\_Randroid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/paranoid_randroid/32/18_2.png) [@Paranoid\_Randroid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paranoid_Randroid)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2011, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-super-hero-role-model/599461/31 "2011-10-13T00:29:55Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > Iā€™m not sure this requires spoilers, since itā€™s all pretty much in the commercials ā€“ so let me add that (a) once he finds an experienced recruiter who _ **does** _ let him in, Steve proves that he _ **can** _ struggle through basic training as required, lugging his rifle through an obstacle course before wheezing his way through the long hard marches; and (b) after he aforementionedly throws himself on a grenade to save the lives of his fellow recruits, the Army concludes ā€œself-sacrificingā€ rather than ā€œsuicidalā€ when promptly making him the recipient of the super-soldier serum. Well, you donā€™t have to defend the honor of Steve Rogers to me. I wasnā€™t claiming that the character _would_ be a hindrance rather than an aid to the military, only that persisting in an attempt to join when more or less everyone with experience thinks it a bad idea is ā€“ well ā€“ probably rather poor at taking a hint. If they _were_ right about him, he could cause lost life and limb in himself and others as a result. ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2011, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-super-hero-role-model/599461/32 "2011-10-13T01:22:17Z")
You left out the Tick. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2011, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-super-hero-role-model/599461/33 "2011-10-13T02:29:52Z")
> [@johnpost](#): > > You left out the Tick. _Spoooooon!_ ---
**Author:** ![Harborwolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Harborwolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harborwolf)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2011, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-super-hero-role-model/599461/34 "2011-10-13T02:33:31Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Spiderman? _Spiderman?_ The same Spiderman who just recently gave up the love of his life in a deal with the devil to save some old bat who is going to die soon anyway? _That_ Spiderman? Sorry. I refuse to acknowledge any storyline after Straczynski. šŸ˜ƒ Lousy Quesada and his deus ex mephisto. ---
**Author:** ![GovernmentMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e9c0ed/32.png) [@GovernmentMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GovernmentMan)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2011, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-super-hero-role-model/599461/35 "2011-10-13T02:50:09Z")
> [@A Monkey With a Gun](#): > > Superman? The guy who set himself up in a love triangle between Lois, himself, and his alter ego? That guy? But letā€™s put that aside and look at how this guy operates. He doesnā€™t solve problems by out thinking his opponent, or doing research, or even working especially hard. He solves problems by punching. Heā€™s not especially smart, or rich, or clever. Heā€™s just a big muscular guy in go go boots whose solution to everything is to punch it in the face. Itā€™s all he knows how to do. > > Thatā€™s not a role model. Someone has not read a Superman comic before. Superman is exceptionally smart and is a bonafide scientific genius. Even in his ā€œaverage joe humanā€ disguise heā€™s a Pulitzer-prize winning journalist. ---
**Author:** ![Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/intergalactic_gladiator/32/112_2.png) [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intergalactic_Gladiator)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2011, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-super-hero-role-model/599461/36 "2011-10-13T03:03:47Z")
Captain America is close, but I also think heā€™s a little one dimensional about it. Spider-Man, on the other hand, I think really _strives_ to do whatā€™s right. Even to the detriment of his own alter egoā€™s personal life. Disregarding the deal with mephisto, which we all know is total BS anyway. ---
**Author:** ![JThunder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e95f7d/32.png) [@JThunder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JThunder)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2011, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-super-hero-role-model/599461/37 "2011-10-13T04:13:31Z")
> [@Paranoid\_Randroid](#): > > Well, you donā€™t have to defend the honor of Steve Rogers to me. I wasnā€™t claiming that the character _would_ be a hindrance rather than an aid to the military, only that persisting in an attempt to join when more or less everyone with experience thinks it a bad idea is ā€“ well ā€“ probably rather poor at taking a hint. If they _were_ right about him, he could cause lost life and limb in himself and others as a result. He was willing to work hard and overcome his physical limitations, even though this would have required a Herculean effort. Sounds like a good role model to me. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Scud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f08c70/32.png) [@Tom\_Scud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Scud)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2011, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-super-hero-role-model/599461/38 "2011-10-13T04:28:04Z")
Quantum and Woody. On alternate days. ---
**Author:** ![Don\_Draper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Don\_Draper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_Draper)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2011, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-super-hero-role-model/599461/39 "2011-10-13T04:57:06Z")
> [@Gangster\_Octopus](#): > > 3 people voted for Superman? Itā€™s a very well established fact that Superman is a dick. My vote goes to **Professor X** : 1. Overcame physical disabilities. 2. Established a school / safe haven to help other people in need (mutants.) 3. Instilled his students with rigorous discipline and a strong drive to succeed (in the Danger Room.) 4. Was way ahead of the curve in inclusiveness ( the ā€œnewā€ X-Men were multi-cultural & race / gender blind way when most teams usually had a token black and a cheesecake female member.) ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2011, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-super-hero-role-model/599461/40 "2011-10-13T05:16:25Z")
Heā€™s also a creepy mind-controlling ephebophile lecher. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-super-hero-role-model/599461.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-super-hero-role-model/599461.md?page=3)